Truth, Justice, and Security Tapes
by kelly4
Summary: With Clark having revealed his biggest secret to Lois, he introduces her to the Justice League. Of course, there's one secret still out there...
1. Chapter 1

"You're sure about this?"

"Lois, I told you, I trust you. I think I proved that by telling you where I really come from. And I've talked to them about it, their cool with it."

Lois looked up at the familiar sight of the red numbers increasing as the elevator rose toward Oliver's apartment.

"I just don't wanna jinx any superhero mojo," she muttered.

Clark turned and grinned at her. "Lois Lane, are you inervous/i?"

Turning to him, she placed her hands on her hips in an all too familiar defiant stance.

"You know, just because you have superpowers, don't think I still can't kick your ass, Smallville."

He grinned at that, knowing she was probably not wrong.

Clark had told her everything about a month ago. He wasn't even sure why, he didn't really think about it beforehand. As things so often did around her, it just…happened.

Lois had been appropriately stunned (for real, who finds out their best friend is an intergalactic traveler?), and naturally, full of questions, but, in true Lois fashion when her curiosity had been somewhat sated, had then taken the revelation in stride and when their conversation was finished, proceeded to ask him what movie he wanted to watch.

_"What?"_

_Clark gave her an incredulous look._

_"You okay, Smallville?"_

_"Lois…I just told you I'm from another planet."_

_"Yeah. And I admit, you threw me for a minute. Hence the like hundreds of questions I just tossed at you."_

_"And that's it?"_

_"Well…I'm sure I'll think of more."_

_"I'm sure you will," he responded dryly._

_"But…I'm pretty good now," she shrugged. "And I wanna eat popcorn and watch a movie. I mean those were our plans for tonight, right?"_

_"Right."_

_Sensing a question lurking behind his response, Lois shook her head, slightly frustrated._

_"What?" she said, exasperated._

_"It's just…you're okay with this?"_

_"Why wouldn't I be? Clark…you're still you."_

And that had been that.

Her reaction (or lack thereof really) had only reinforced his decision to tell her everything. In the ensuing weeks, he had confided in the League that he wanted her to know about them too. She already knew Oliver, of course, and AC – though she didn't know AC was in the league, but he didn't want anymore secrets between them.

He wouldn't tell her, of course, if they didn't agree, but they had been open to it. Not only because Clark trusted Lois, but because Oliver had pointed out what a benefit, not to mention how much easier, it would be having the up and coming Lane and Kent reporting team _both_ be in the know as far as the JLA and their workings were concerned.

Clark, of course, wasn't thrilled about this angle, having become more and more protective of Lois as the years had gone on in their friendship. And knowing, all too well, that Lois would love nothing more than to throw herself in the middle of whatever injustice the League would inevitably be working to correct.

So, this was how they found themselves riding the elevator to up to Ollie's apartment.

"Just a warning," Clark said, leaning against the back wall, "these guys aren't exactly…shy."

"That's not a warning, that's a blessing," she responded, grinning at Clark. He should have known that would please her.

He had no doubt that the personalities of his buddies in the JLA would be right up Lois' alley.

The elevator finally stopped, and Clark reached over to pull open the heavy door.

As Lois looked out at the familiar sight, having spent a lot of time here when she was dating Ollie, she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Why do I feel like I'm walking into an audition?" she muttered to herself, then immediately glanced at Clark. Who was grinning.

He totally heard her. She always forgot the superhearing.

Seeing his newly arrived guests, Ollie headed over to them, slapping Clark on the back in greeting. Turning toward Lois, he smiled, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek, rolling his eyes slightly at Clark very obviously clearing his throat and stepping closer to Lois in response.

"Hey Lois."

"Ollie," she responded, returning his smile while giving Clark a sideways glance. What the heck was up with him?

"Well, come on in. Meet the motley crew."

"Crew?" she asked, only seeing one man sitting in the room.

"Oh, the other two'll be back in a minute. They were having one of their incessant, and might I add pointless, debates and I told them to take it in there," he said, gesturing to the clock doors that concealed the secret room which held his Green Arrow gear, "and finish it because they were annoying the hell out of me."

"Me, too," the other man in the room said, before walking over to Lois and extending his hand. "I'm Victor Stone."

"Lois Lane."

"It's nice to finally meet you," he said, then looked at Clark, "I've heard an awful lot about you already. It's nice to put a face with the name."

"Really?" she asked, curiously turning to look at Clark who was turning the slightest shade of pink while glaring at Victor.

"Hey, Oliver, got any water?" Clark blurted out, ushering Lois further into the apartment and desperately trying to get away from the turn in which Victor was trying to steer the conversation.

There was no need for Lois to know what he had confided about her to his buddies.

As he was mentally kicking himself for not thinking, or more to the point, predicting that his friends would see the opportunity to meet Lois also as a way to make him squirm, he guided Lois to the large sofa, motioning for her to sit down while Ollie handed him a glass of water. Lois shook her head 'no' when Ollie asked if she would like anything, watching as Victor sits down across from her.

"So, what's your story? I know we have a merry archer and super guy over here," she said, acknowledging both Clark and Ollie with a nod. "What's the deal with you?"

Clark grinned, having warned the guys that Lois was nothing if not a blunt and straight to the point kind of woman, a characterization Oliver had wholeheartedly backed up.

"I'm Cyborg."

"Yeah…we use him when the DVD player breaks down," Ollie quipped, leaning against the counter.

"Funny, Robin Hood," Victor grumbled.

Lois smiled at the exchange. "So, what can you do?"

"Hack into stuff…machines, computers…among other things."

"That must come in handy, especially with the scumbags I'm sure you guys deal with, like LuthorCorp."

Victor nodded in response, slightly amazed at her nonplussed reaction. Though, he imagined after hearing Clark was an alien, everything else she learned today would be pretty anti-climactic.

As Lois was about to ask her next question (Clark had warned them about that too. She wasn't Mad Dog Lane for nothing), two bickering voices started to come through the slowly opening clock doors.

"Dude, Shamu is a _killer_ whale. Would totally kick Flipper's ass."

"Shamu wouldn't be able to catch Flipper, dumbass."

"If you're not finished, I'm throwing both of you back in there and pinning each of you to the wall with an arrow until you finish this ridiculous argument," Oliver grumbled, pointedly looking at both men. "Besides, we have company."

They both look towards Lois, who is sitting wide eyed on the couch.

"AC?" she said, shock evident in her voice.

With a wide smile, AC bolted over to the sofa, picking up a stunned Lois in a bear hug and spinning her around.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said, noticing the ticked off look on Clark's face. The boy had it bad for one Lois Lane, and AC was going to love torturing him.

When he set her down, Lois pulled back, a big smile on her face, looking fondly at the man she had dated for only a short time, but who had greatly impressed her with his concerns and his actions towards the world they lived in.

"Well, I don't have to ask what _you_ can do," she said, remembering well the lighting fast swimming abilities of the man standing in front of her. She then turned to Clark, shooting him a slightly annoyed look.

"A heads up would have been nice."

"Hey…he wanted to surprise you," Clark muttered in response, noting with irritation that AC's hands were still firmly on Lois' waist.

"You look great," AC said, wondering how long it would be before he felt Clark's heat vision searing the flesh of his hands.

"So do you."

Oliver, Victor, and Bart watched in amusement as Clark continued to glare at AC's hands. After another moment, he looked up at AC and Lois, who continued to talk in close proximity that Clark would argue was totally unnecessary. Finally realizing he was the object of his friends' knowing stares, he saw a way to very nonchalantly interrupt the little lovefest they had going.

"Bart!"

AC and Lois turned to look at him, perplexed by his sudden outburst. Clark shrugged, feeling the heat rise slowly up the back of his neck.

"She hasn't met Bart," he said quietly. Bart was only too happy to oblige, and immediately rushed to a surprised Lois' side.

"Bart Allen…fastest man in the world, beautiful," he said, a flirtatiously smug look on his face that caused Lois to burst out laughing.

"Wait…_this_ is Bart?"

The five men in the room looked at her strangely. Lois turned to Clark.

"This is Chloe's Bart?"

Ollie, Victor, AC, and Clark groaned as Bart's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Chloe-licious mentioned me?"

Sensing an opportunity for a bit of revenge on her cousin – after all, Chloe had been needling her about her growing feelings for Clark for months and turnabout was definitely fair play – she turned to Bart, a sly smile gracing her face.

"Are you kidding? You're practically all she talks about."

As Bart dreamily plopped himself down on the sofa, Lois met Clark's eyes. He raised an eyebrow, a grin on his face.

Chloe was going to kill her. While the feelings for Bart were definitely there, Chloe was putting the ardent suitor off, for reasons only she knew.

"So," Lois said, pointing to Victor, "You're Cyborg, you're Green Arrow," she continued, turning to Oliver, "which, by the way, is thanks to _me_. What about you two?" she finished, wagging her finger between AC and Bart.

Oliver interjected, motioning to Bart. "He's Impulse."

"Awww, man, I told you I wanna be Flash!"

"And I told you, when Chloe makes a man out of you, then we can discuss changing your code name. Until then, Impulse."

Bart pouted, eliciting a chuckle from Lois. She had a feeling Bart would be Impulse for a good long while.

"And you?"

"Fish stick," Clark said, a smirk on his face. Yeah, he was still stinging from the affection shown to Lois by AC.

"That's Aquaman to you, Boy Scout," AC jabbed back, amused at Clark's evident jealousy. Evident, it seemed, to everyone but Lois. Lois, for her part, was looking at Clark with wide eyed amusement.

"_Boy Scout_? THAT is your code name? Oh, that's perfect. Who came up with that one?"

Oliver raised his hand, sitting in the other chair across from the sofa. "Guilty." That got him a not so friendly stare from Clark.

"Nice work," Lois said, laughing.

"I didn't get to pick," Clark said, trying to defend his code name.

"Oh really? And what would you have picked?"

"I don't know," Clark shrugged. "But not Boy Scout," he finished moodily, earning him an eyeroll from Oliver.

"Maybe Lois was onto something before," Victor piped in.

"What?"

"She referred to him as 'super guy'."

Bart leaned forward. "Super guy? I dunno man, kinda sounds like something you'd see in a bad MadTV sketch."

"Superboy?" AC chimed in, and Clark rolls his eyes.

"I don't think 'boy' is at all appropriate, I mean look at him. Super_man_ I'd say," Lois offered, before realizing the words that were actually leaving her lips. When they finally hit her hears, she slammed her lips shut quickly, and felt her cheeks starting to burn.

Seeing both Oliver and AC with knowing grins she'd like nothing more than to slap off their faces, along with Victor and Bart barely holding in their laughter, Lois fell against the back of the sofa, hoping it would open up and allow her to crawl inside and disappear. She stole a sideways glance at Clark, who was looking down at his hands in his lap, but she noticed a very satisfied grin on his face.

Damn.

Clearing his throat, and noticing a flustered Lois Lane, which wasn't exactly a common occurrence, Ollie decided, reluctantly because he definitely enjoyed it when she was caught off her guard, to give her a break.

"You know, that's not half bad Lois. Actually, it's pretty good."

"HOLD UP!" Bart yelled, "Clark gets a cool code name from a brutally hot chick and I _still_ have to suffer with Impulse?" Frustrated, Bart turned to Lois. "I don't suppose you could get Chloe over here, like ASAP?"

Feeling the heat off of her, slightly anyway, Lois shook her head, giving Bart a sympathetic look. "Not gonna happen, Speedy. Chloe's got her feet firmly planted in denial land," she finished, feeling she had gotten just revenge on her cousin for all the Clark talk she had endured over the last few months.

"Must run in the family," Oliver muttered. Unfortunately for Oliver, Lois picked up on it.

"What was that?" she asked sweetly. But Oliver wasn't fooled for a second, having heard that syrupy sweet voice before, and knowing the anger it tended to mask.

"I said it must be fun to be in your family," Oliver responded, not quite meeting Lois' now narrowed eyes.

"Uh-huh," Lois retorted knowingly.

"So," Oliver said, trying to change the subject. "Superman it is. I guess you're two for two Lois," he complimented her in a transparent attempt to win some points.

"I don't know," Clark interjected. "Superman? I mean…it's kind of, I don't know….arrogant don't you think?"

Rolling her eyes, Lois turned toward him. "Oh for crying out loud Smallville. You're a _man_ with _super_powers. Get over it."

"Yeah…you're not gonna win this one, bro," AC chuckled.

"I have a feeling he doesn't win many around her," Victor observed, and Lois rewarded the sentiment with a smile.

"He doesn't," she confirmed, gently elbowing him in the arm. "But, he does generally put up a good fight, which, you do have to give him credit for that," she finished, a smug grin now directed at Clark.

"I win some!" he said defiantly. Lois, and the rest of the League, just looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

"You just keep tellin' yourself that," Bart snarked.

"So Lois," Victor chimed in, "guess you knew most of the League already. You know, without knowing it anyway."

Looking around at the five men sitting with her, she nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did," she paused, her eyes going specifically from AC to Oliver to Clark. Suddenly, they widened as a thought occurs to her.

"Oh my God."

"What?" Clark asked, seeing the look of horror on Lois' face.

"I've played tonsil hockey with more than half this Justice League," she mutters, more to herself than to them. She closed her eyes when she realized she had said it out loud.

"Oh crap," she said, dropping her face into her hands, missing the amused stares of Ollie, AC, Victor and Bart and the jealousy on Clark's face as her words brought that same reality home to him as well. Not that he didn't know that, but hearing her say it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Lifting her head out of her hands, she faced it head on.

"Wow, well…this isn't awkward _at all_."

"Wait a minute," Bart said. "More than half. That means three, right?"

"Way to go Roadrunner," Victor quipped dryly.

"Bite me, Bionic Idiot," he said, tossing the barb over his shoulder as he fully turned to Lois. "I know you macked on Ollie and AC….that's two. I know it wasn't me cuz…dude…I would _so_ remember," Bart continued, then turned to Victor. "You been holding out on me?"

"Shut up, man."

Bart turned back to Lois, a confused look on his face…until his eyes fell on the blushing superhero sitting next to her.

"NO WAY!"

Bart busted out laughing, and Lois shook her head slightly at his outburst.

"Dude! That's stuff you share with the group! Kissing a babe like _that_? Especially with the way you go on about her…,"

Seeing Lois' very interested attention on Bart's ramblings, Clark jumped in.

"You know, _Impulse_," Clark sneered, intentionally using the codename that was the bane of Bart's existence, "I doubt Chloe would be very impressed with a guy in a body cast."

Trying to stifle his laughter, the threat of Chloe was one the Justice League could always count on to work with Bart, he leaned back against the arm of the sofa, his eyes still fixed on Lois and Clark.

"It was just once," Lois said, shrugging. "Well, I think anyway. When he was dressed as Green Arrow to throw me off that one's trail," Lois finished, pointing to Ollie, and then quickly changing the subject, wanting to avoid Clark bringing up her reaction to the kiss the following morning. "Though, I guess we probably kissed on Valentine's Day," she said absently, "not that either of us remember. I was juiced on that lovestruck lipstick and you were all hopped on red kryptonite. That's what you said was in it, right?" she asked. He had explained red K to her, briefly, adding that that's what affected him on Valentine's Day - the red meteor rocks in her lipstick. She had taken him at his word on that, and hadn't probed further, assuming the rest of what he had told her in the loft the morning after had been true – that he was just as in the dark as she was. So he had let the subject drop.

Clark's eyes widened suddenly, and he met Oliver's eyes. Eyes that were brimming with trouble.

"Oh you did more than kiss, Lois," Oliver said, watching his friend fervently shake his head no with undisguised glee.

Clark looked at Lois, who was looking at Oliver with great interest after that remark.

He _knew_ there was something he had forgotten to tell her.


	2. Chapter 2

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Lois' tone meant business.

"Yeah, Ollie, what do you know?" AC said, having a feeling it must be pretty juicy, judging from the deep red Clark was beginning to turn.

"I'm just sayin', I think Clark got farther than you or I did," Oliver said, amidst a chuckle. Seeing Lois' ticked off glare, Ollie cleared his throat. "Of course, you were on some kind of love potion."

"That would explain it," Bart grinned.

Turning slowly to Clark, Lois crossed her arms over her chest. "You're very quiet, Clark," she said, emphasizing her use of his first name instead of her nickname for him.

"Um…well…"

"Start talking."

"Oh I can do better than that," Oliver grinned, getting up out of the chair. Clark looked at Ollie, having a feeling he knew what Ollie was going for, and quickly stands up to block his way.

"You don't wanna do this," Clark muttered.

"Hey man, I thought you told her. What'd you say? No more secrets?"

He stole a glance at a now fuming Lois, and also noticed Bart slowly inching away from her on the sofa. Just met her and already he can sense the outburst coming.

"And I meant it," Clark said quietly, but determinedly. "I just…sorta forgot about this one."

"Forgot about _what_ one?" Lois said through clenched teeth, suddenly standing next to him and Oliver.

"Now Lois…"

"Don't you 'now Lois' me Clark Kent. Start talking!"

Oblivious to the grins of the four other men in the room, Lois moved herself directly in front of Clark, fists clenched at her side. Oliver wagged his eyebrows at Clark over Lois' head, smiling triumphantly. His bluff to retrieve what Clark thought he was going for had totally worked. Taking his seat, he prepared himself for the show. And there was no better show than a worked up Lois.

"Um…maybe we should go somewhere and talk…"

"Oh no…no way. I want your buddies here to see a _mere mortal_ girl kick your extra terrestrial ass."

"It's not what you think," he said pointedly.

"What I think is that _you_ remember that night, even though you swore to me you didn't!"

"Okay…then it is what you think…," he responded, an attempt at humor. "But I didn't lie…"

"Like hell you didn't!"

"No, I mean…ok I _lied_ about that…but I didn't lie about…you know," he said, leaning closer to her. Well, as close as he dared with her current mood.

"No, Clark, I don't know…what?"

"He means you didn't christen anything here. Well, fully anyway," Oliver interjected, offering a life preserver to the drowning man in front of him.

Of course, by doing that, he had leapt right into the deep end. He cringed slightly as Lois turned toward him.

"You seem to know an awful lot," she said slowly, her tone calculated.

"Wait a minute," Bart chimed in. "You were _here_?"

Victor cleared his throat. "Here? Um….where exactly?" he asked, suddenly jumping up out of his chair and deciding to just lean against the back of it.

Turning back to Clark, fresh anger washing over her as the implication hit her, Lois planted her closed fists on her hips. "You brought me _here_ that night?"

"Well…yeah," Clark said weakly.

"You brought me to my ex-boyfriend's apartment?"

"I wasn't exactly myself either that night Lois," Clark retaliated, in an attempt to defend himself.

"But at least YOU had some idea of what you were doing! That's what you told me about the red K, that it doesn't change you, it just strips away your inhibitions. And you brought me here? WHY?"

Clark shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying desperately to come up with a way to avoid that question. Particularly because the reason he brought her here, the reason for his jealousy that night was sitting less than six feet away from them.

"Wait a minute."

He watched with a hint of relief as Lois whirled back towards Oliver.

"What?" Oliver responded anxiously. He was starting to see this little bluff may not have been his best idea.

"You've got security cameras all over this place don't you?"

Oliver fidgeted slightly, noticeably trying to evade Lois' question when Victor chimed in.

"You kidding? You can't breathe in this place without being on camera," he said, trailing off at the end when he saw the angry stares from both Oliver and Clark.

Taking a deep breath, Lois marched over to Oliver and held out her hand.

"Hand it over."

"Lois, I don't know what you're talking about," Oliver said nervously.

An evil smirk crossed Lois' lips, causing Oliver to squirm uncomfortably.

"Oh really?" she purred, leaning down towards Oliver. "You know, since this seems to be a day for secrets coming out, I'm wondering if your buddies here know all about that little game you like to play…_Robin Hood_."

"Lois…," Oliver choked out.

"Ohhhh the Jolly Green Archer has some naughty fantasies, huh?" AC said, seeing a usually in control Oliver start to get very flustered.

"Wait a minute," Clark snapped suddenly, none too happy, "You told me you two never…"

"Like you have room to question _me_ right now!"

His jealousy causing him to gain a bit of footing in this argument, he took a step toward her. "I don't know, Lois, seems to me we have a pot kettle situation here."

Standing and turning towards him, Clark saw the fury in those beautiful eyes of hers.

_Yeah. Thinking how beautiful she is instead of how you're gonna get out of this alive is the right move right now_, a sarcastic voice rang through his head.

"Oh I don't think so. I never _lied_. We never slept together. Not for lack of trying though. We just got interrupted. A lot," she grumbled, and then turns back to Ollie. "So, I do have some very _interesting_ information that I'm sure our merry archer here would like to keep quiet."

"No, spill, SPILL!"

"You're gonna be Impulse for the rest of your natural born life if you don't shut up," Oliver snapped at a very amused Bart. He then turned to Lois. Seeing she's not kidding around, and knowing he totally brought this on himself, he looked at Clark and shook his head.

"Sorry, man."

Clark watched helplessly as Ollie got up and left the room. When he heard Bart laughing, he turned toward him, glaring.

"Man, this is like the _best day ever_."

"Leave it to Lois Lane to reduce Green Arrow and the newly christened Superman to nervous little boys," AC chimed in.

Feeling the compliment in AC's words, Lois turned to him, giving him a triumphant grin. Clark rolled his eyes, and is amazed at how Lois almost sensed that and whipped back around towards him. Ollie returned, holding a slim DVD case in his hand.

"Here," he said, holding it out to Lois, who snatched it out of his hand.

"I take it you've seen this?" she said, her eyes moving back and forth between them.

They both mumbled 'yeah', their eyes suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

Lois took a deep breath in, attempting to control her anger.

"Great…that's just…great," she said. Turning towards Bart, Victor, and AC, she suddenly plastered a smile on her face. "Well, it was nice meeting you two. And AC, it was really great to see you again," she said sweetly, and for added emphasis (and to torture Clark), she walked over and leaned down, planting a soft kiss nearer to his lips than Clark would like. Clark groaned softly at that, stuffing his clenched fists into his pockets and trying to ignore the knowing grin on AC's face.

Turning, Lois started heading toward the elevator, but stopped in front of Clark and Ollie.

"I'll deal with you two later," she huffed, and stalked into the lift, slamming the heavy door as best she could.

A stunned silence enveloped the room, Hurricane Lois having achieved its usual effect.

Bart got up from the couch, and headed over to Clark, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Dude, she's _awesome_!"


	3. Chapter 3

**2 Hours Later**

Clark wondered how long he could stand outside Lois' door without her actually knowing he's there.

It had been about fifteen minutes already.

He just couldn't bring himself to knock.

Ollie, of course, had begged off, insisting that Clark needed to talk to Lois alone. Which, had led to the guys hysterically laughing at the Green Arrow being afraid of Lois Lane, an accusation which Oliver didn't exactly deny. Clark warned him he was just delaying the inevitable, but Ollie had said he was more than willing to delay it as long as humanly possible.

So, he stood there alone. After having procrastinated by wandering around Metropolis. And grabbing dinner. And calling his mother in Washington.

He felt that, really, this whole thing hadn't been completely deliberate on his part. It was just that, when he had told her about the red K, and she hadn't questioned him further, he figured it was just better to let it drop. What was the harm? It might only serve to make things awkward between them and he didn't want that. He'd grown so dependent on their relationship, on being around her, he couldn't stand the thought that finding out the extent of their adventures that night might make her uncomfortable.

Or worse, it might stall whatever it was that was growing between them. And he knew there was _something_ there. There were times that he was surer of it than others, certainly, but there was something. Something he didn't want to screw up before it even got started.

Of course, he thought glumly to himself, he may have done that anyway.

But honestly, he _had_ forgotten about the whole thing after that one conversation. Plus, Ollie had promised him the DVD would never see the light of day after he had gleefully shown it to Clark when he arrived back in Metropolis. Of course, he also refused to destroy it, which should have been Clark's first clue that he was keeping it for a reason.

Taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the upcoming confrontation, Clark raised his hand, about to knock on the door.

He just hoped Lois hadn't decided to stock up on kryptonite on her way home.

**Meanwhile, in Lois' Apartment…**

_Wow._

_What? NOT 'Wow'! 'Wow' is not a pissed off, angry word, Lane! He doesn't deserve a 'wow'!_

That little argument with herself had been going on for a good solid hour.

She wanted to be angry with him. She wanted to be irate that he had known exactly what happened that night and didn't tell her, and worse, knew that there was actually recorded evidence of it and had kept it from her.

But then she had watched the damn thing. And faced with a very confident, sexy, and rapidly losing his clothing Clark who was apparently making her a very happy woman if her image on the security DVD was any indication, she was having a hard time mustering up anything other than a longing feeling to remember what she had missed.

Which totally ticked her off. Because Clark Kent absolutely deserved her wrath for this.

But watching this? All it made her want to do is kiss him. Repeatedly. While he was shirtless.

So far, she had only watched up to the point where he had picked her up in his arms and carried her over to Oliver's green (naturally) chaise. Granted, she had watched up to that point about a hundred times.

She wasn't entirely sure what had stopped her from going beyond that point though. It wasn't that she didn't believe him. Clark was generally the most honorable guy she knew, and if he said they didn't sleep together that night, she felt pretty safe in believing at least that.

She knew she needed to see it though. To see exactly how far they'd gone.

With an air of determination, she hit the 'play' button, setting the freeze frame into motion. Despite herself, she grinned at what she saw.

_So THAT'S what happened to my shirt._

And, then, just like that? She sees Clark stop. He reached over and grabbed what appeared to be a folded piece stationery out of the jacket he had only moments before taken off of her and tossed away.

"What the hell?"

She froze the frame, moving closer to the TV to try and see what the paper was exactly. When that was fruitless, she unpaused it, hoping to get some answers from whatever happened next. She saw a clearly much broodier Clark and a still very amorous version of herself, as she appeared to be trying to coax him back to their previous activities.

She paused the DVD again, trying to recall her conversation with Chloe, who had filled her in on some of the evening. Aphrodisiac laced lipstick, loveslave over Clark…

and crashing Lana's engagement party.

Lois narrowed her eyes. She _had_ received an invitation to said party.

Was _that_ what he was holding?

Was _that_ what changed sexy, confident, and fun Clark back into mopey, brooding Clark?

Was _that_ what had stopped them?

She knew that at some point in the night, they'd stopped before things went too far. And she knew that they had ended up at Lana's engagement party.

But until this moment, she hadn't realized just _how_ that had happened.

For some reason Lois couldn't quite explain, instead of feeling relieved that they _had_, in fact, stopped, she felt angry. And worse, at least in her mind? Jealous.

As she sat there, replaying those last few moments on the DVD over and over, she felt her face flush once again. Only this time, the redness coloring her cheeks had nothing to do with the feelings watching Clark put the moves on her so assuredly stirred inside her, but because she was becoming more livid by the second.

It was, therefore, extremely unfortunate for him that that was the exact moment Clark Kent finally got up the nerve to knock on her door.


	4. Chapter 4

When Lois whipped the door open, Clark was not a bit surprised to see a pair of very angry hazel eyes and very flushed cheeks on the face of the woman staring back at him.

"You have a _lot_ of explaining to do, Clark," Lois snapped, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the apartment. Clark couldn't help but wince slightly at the noticeable absence of his nickname, particularly accompanied by the angry tone of voice.

She was _really_ ticked.

"Um, Lois…I can explain," he said weakly, his eyes drawn to the paused picture on her television screen. Seeing himself, shirtless, with Lois' chin resting on his shoulder, he felt a bit of warmth spread throughout his stomach.

Warmth that quickly turned to a mass of nerves as he faced an irate Lois.

"You're kidding me, right?" she said, her arms crossed defiantly in front of her.

"Lois…I told you…the red kryptonite kinda makes me," he paused, unable to stop the blush from creeping up his neck, "Um…well…you know."

"An idiot?"

He shot her a confused look, having expected a tirade on his putting some very aggressive moves on her, not to mention forgetting to let her in on their escapades.

"Huh?"

"You're right, idiot doesn't quite do you justice. Moron, perhaps? That might fit nicely," she snarked. "Frankly, _that_ would be the only explanation for _that_!" she finishes, gesturing towards the paused frame.

"I know I should have stopped things, but…"

"I mean really, _who_ lets an invitation to a wishy washy pink princess' engagement party come between him and the opportunity to get some?"

"But when I'm on red K…the word 'stop' really isn't….wait, _what_?" Clark practically yelled, stunned as the meaning of her words hits him.

"Let's face it, I was a sure thing, not to mention I was looking totally smokin'. Okay, granted, the outfit was a tad on the slutty side but I was _so_ working it."

Clark blinked quickly, completely flustered at the direction the conversation was heading. "Yeah…you were," he managed to mumble.

"And yet, _you_ were distracted by a freakin' piece of paper? Oh wait, I forgot, it had _Lana's name_ on it!" she snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Wait…_that's _what you're mad about?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, I'm sorry if watching you practically leap off of me to go brood over little Ms. Perfect annoys the hell out of me," she yelled back.

He stared open-mouthed at her, taking in her reddening cheeks, her flashing eyes. The wheels turned in his head, as a thought began to form – a thought he rationally knew he shouldn't say out loud, but he did anyway, before he fully contemplated the consequences.

"Are you _jealous_?"

Eyes widening in response, it took but a second for Lois to whirl around and start frantically opening and closing random drawers and cabinets throughout her living room and kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for kryptonite. Because after _that_ remark, you _deserve_ it," she growled angrily as she slammed a cabinet door shut. Despite the situation, Clark grinned at that. Her feistiness was one of the things he absolutely adored about her.

"Lois, I know you don't have any kryptonite," he said, unable to hide the grin still on his face as she turned to face him.

"Take it back."

"Lois…."

"There is absolutely _no way_ that I'm jealous of that whiny little crybaby," she sneered, taking a step toward him. Despite knowing there was no way she could hurt him, he took a step back. A mortal Lois Lane was still dangerous, even to someone as invulnerable as him.

Of course, the mere fact that she was so heatedly denying it proved he was right, a fact that wasn't lost on Clark. Still…he'd learned over the years of their friendship when to cut his losses.

"Okay, so then why are you so upset about that?" he asked, and earning an exasperated eye roll from Lois in response. "I mean, it's not like you didn't know we ended up at the party."

"Do you know what I saw when I watched that DVD?" she asked, clearly annoyed. Noticing the blush staining Clark's cheeks at her query, she shook her head slightly. "Aside from that, Smallville."

Slightly relieved to hear her nickname for him again, he simply shrugged in response.

"I saw a guy who was having a pretty good time. Who was fun, and confident, and okay, fine…it seemed like I was having a good time too so you must've been doing _something _right," she admitted grudgingly. "But the minute, the _second_ you saw Lana's name, your whole mood just _changed_. Gone was the fun guy, in came Mr. Broody. Sure, judging from what I've heard of the party antics, it also seemed like you had a healthy dose of 'gigantic jerk' in there as well, but my point is that it's incredibly frustrating to see all your potential get zapped into mopeland the minute Lana, or in this case, her name, rears her head."

He cocked his head slightly, absorbing her words. "And when was the last time that happened?"

"What?"

"You heard me. When was the last time I was at all affected by anyone mentioning Lana?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, her mind racing back over the span of time since Lana had left Smallville.

And really, aside from a few bouts of Lana induced brooding early on, she was hard pressed to remember any other incidents.

"You can't remember, can you?" he asked, and Lois cringed at the confidence in his voice, having a sinking feeling he was about to call her out. "Because it hasn't happened in a really long time. I'm over her and you know it. So this being the reason you're so upset _now_," he paused, gesturing towards her, "doesn't hold up."

"Call it a delayed reaction…after having a front row seat for the angst you two put each other through; I'm entitled to a little post traumatic ranting."

"Come on, Lo…"

"NO! No way, you don't get to stand there and act like you have the upper hand when you've been lying to me for months, no _years_!"

He sighed deeply, watching her getting herself riled up, most likely to avoid the turn the conversation was taking.

"You're right. I should have told you."

"Why didn't you? Especially after you told me everything else?"

"I don't know...I guess because I didn't want things to be weird between us."

"How would telling me the truth make things weird?"

"Lois…it was uncomfortable enough for _me_ to know. Everytime I looked at you…" he paused, unsure how to continue for a moment.

"You'd remember," she cut in, her anger lessening slightly as she watched him struggle a bit.

"Right…the only thing that helped was that you didn't know, and would just talk to me like usual, like things were totally normal. I know it sounds…well, selfish…"

"Incredibly so," she interjected.

"And I'm sorry. I really am. It wasn't fair of me to keep that from you."

Her tense posture relaxed slightly, noting the sincerity in his eyes.

"Okay," she said quietly.

"Okay?"

"Okay. But _don't_ do it again."

"Boy Scout's honor," he responded, a slight grin on his face. Seeing Lois fighting her own smile in response, he added, "Hey, that's probably the last time I get to use that, what with my new codename and all."

"I _do_ seem to have a knack for nicknaming superheroes," she teased.

He chuckled at that, leaning back against the edge of her counter.

"So…consider this your chance, Kent. Anything else you wanna tell me?"

He contemplated that for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing else to tell."

She nodded, taking him at his word and finally uncrossing her arms and hoisting herself up on the small dining table across from him.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Anything you wanna tell me?"

"About?"

"About the real reason you were so upset?" he finished, his head nodding towards her television. "And don't give me the 'Lana makes Clark mopey' excuse, because, as we've covered, we both know that isn't the reason."

He watched as her hands grip the edge of the table, and he can see her mind working in that head of hers, deciding whether or not to fess up. Sure, he _hoped_ it was the reason he suspected, but it wouldn't hurt to have some confirmation from the woman herself.

A few moments later, she bit her lip and nodded quickly.

"Okay, since we're doing the honesty thing…but I swear to God Smallville, you repeat this and even your superpowers won't save you from me."

"Got it."

He could see her almost physically struggling with the words, as her hands opened and closed around the rim of the table. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke, albeit in a much more quiet voice than he'd ever heard her use, her eyes firmly planted on the floor.

"I guess…when I was watching you grab that invitation and just…basically forget all about me for Lana…I guess my pride was a little hurt. And, okay…_maybe_ I was the tiniest bit, and I mean like the teensiest amount you can think of, … jealous."

He could feel the smile spread wide across his face. And he knew if she looked up and saw it, there'd be hell to pay.

For her part, Lois concentrated on the pattern the grain of the stained wood made on her floor, putting off looking up at his face for as long as possible.

When he noticed her head start to lift, he turned quickly, heading over to her refrigerator, giving him a few seconds of leeway to get his emotions under control. Opening the door, he grabbed her a beer, and one for himself. It didn't affect him, but after many happy hours with Lois after a long day of work at the Planet, he had come to like the taste of it.

Her eyes met his just as he turned back from the fridge. He cleared his throat, the ecstatic smile now gone as he handed her one of the cold bottles.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Oh God, don't apologize," she groaned, twisting off the cap and taking a long sip.

"Lois…I was a huge jerk that night. And not just at the party. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

"Well, neither of us was really in our right minds…"

"Granted…but still. And even though that wouldn't have been the way I would have ideally liked to…um…stop things? I'm not entirely sorry that I saw that invitation. Sure, I should have handled it differently but, honestly, it's a good thing I did."

"How do you figure?"

"Come on, you and I both know what would have happened if I hadn't."

She took that in, and then nodded her head slowly in response before adding, "We wouldn't have stopped."

"No…we wouldn't have. You were all drugged out on an aphrodisiac and I was on red K. So, if finding that invitation stopped us? Then I can live with it. Because I wouldn't want our first time to have been like _that_."

The moment the words leave his lips, he feels himself turn a crimson shade of red. Where the hell had _that _come from?

Stealing a glance at Lois, he saw her momentary shock at his comment turn into a smirk.

"_Our first time_? So….you're assuming there'll be one, huh Smallville?"

He took a long drink from his beer, wishing more than anything at that moment that alcohol affected him so he wouldn't have to be entirely cognizant of the incredibly awkward moment he'd landed himself in. "I meant, hypothetically," he said quickly. "You know, if you and I were to ever…," he paused, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red, which Lois wasn't sure was possible as she watched him, amused.

"Hit the sheets?" she interjected.

"Well, um…yeah…I'm just saying…I'm glad it wasn't like that," he finished, almost stammering. He tipped the bottle to his lips once again, draining it quickly before putting it back on the counter. "So…um…I should go," he muttered, and quickly starts to head for the door.

Watching him, Lois pushed herself off the table – not quite believing what she was about to do, but something inside her seemed to be pushing her to return his honesty – even if it had been a slip on his part.

"Clark?"

His hand froze on the doorknob when he heard her voice.

"I wouldn't want our first time to have been like that either," she said softly.

Momentarily stunned, Clark felt his heart leap a bit at her words. Turning to her, his blush having lessened a bit and a small smile now gracing his lips, he took a step back toward her.

"Really?"

Lois simply shook her head slightly. "Don't push your luck, Smallville."

Nodding in understanding, Clark moved back toward the door.

"Right…so…I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"As usual," she quipped, watching with a grin as he fumbled with the doorknob before finally opening the door and walking out.

After a moment, she turned and headed back into her living room, flopping down on her sofa.

Seeing the still paused frame on her screen, she leaned her head back against the soft cushions.

_Something_ had happened between them tonight. The words they'd said, the admissions they'd made.

It unsettled her, because it's leading to an unknown, and that terrified her. This was _Clark_. Her best friend. Someone she couldn't fathom losing from her life.

On the other hand, she couldn't quite quell the anticipation she felt at what the future might bring.

Rolling her head to the side, she spotted her laptop, bringing her out of her confusing yet excited thoughts.

There was still one more person who she had to deal with.

Grabbing the slim computer, she pulled it onto her lap and opened her email. Clicking 'new message', she smirked as she began typing.

_Dear Ollie,_

_When you least expect it? _

_Expect it._

_Lois_

Shutting her computer, she grinned, satisfied that her little veiled threat would make Ollie squirm. Oh she's gonna get him back…but things like this take time. Finesse. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and the General had taught her the value of a good and well planned surprise attack.

Sighing, she picked up her remote, and despite every intention of hitting the off button for her DVD player, she found herself pressing rewind. Hitting play just as she sees Clark and her walk into the apartment, she brought her legs up underneath her, watching with different eyes this time.

Eyes that weren't as angry. Eyes that were definitely more appreciative.

Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks as she watched Clark very easily relieve her of her jacket while laying what appears to be one incredible kiss on her, she bit the side of her lip.

"Nice moves, Farmboy."

A few blocks away, Clark, who had decided to walk at a normal pace back to his apartment instead of opting for superspeed on such a beautiful night in the city, smiled broadly as her voice, and more importantly, her words, reached his ears.

She _always_ forgets the superhearing.


	5. Chapter 5

**December 22, 2009 – Seven Months Later**

"I can't believe I let you two talk me into this," Chloe Sullivan groaned, looking with dread at the numbers ticking off on the way up to Oliver Queen's apartment.

"Come on Cuz, you just _might_ have fun," Lois countered.

"And maybe even take a baby step out of Denial Land," Clark quipped with a smirk.

Chloe turned toward them, arms folded over her chest.

"You know, ever since you two started dating? You've become _really_ annoying."

Lois giggled at that, leaning back against Clark, who had his arm snugly around her waist.

"I mean really, just because you two left Denial Land six months ago, doesn't mean _I_ have to," she muttered, turning her eyes back to the red numbers that kept increasing, much to her dismay.

Lois rolled her eyes at her cousin's remark. "Okay, fine, forget about Speedy. You have a more important reason for being here," she said gleefully, raising the festive red and green gift bag in her hand and shaking it slightly.

"Ahhhh yes. The revenge. And don't get me wrong, I fully support that and am glad I'll get to witness it," Chloe offered, "I just wish you'd tell me what you're planning."

"Nope. Only Smallville and Dinah know, and that's the way it's gonna stay."

"But why?" Chloe whined.

"Deniability, Cuz," Lois grinned.

"Okay, Clark I get you telling," Chloe said, motioning to him, "But Dinah? And not me?"

"As the girlfriend of my intended target, I figured she should be in on it," Lois responded matter of factly.

"Especially considering what it is," Clark muttered quietly, but not quietly enough as Chloe picked up on it.

"Come ON! I wanna know!"

"Forget it, Chlo. You're gonna have to wait for the show, just like everyone else!"

Chloe stamped her foot in response, earning her a grin from her cousin.

It had worked out so perfectly. They had all decided that for the holidays, considering the League was growing, along with their circle of friends, that they'd do a 'Secret Santa' instead of everyone exchanging gifts at the Christmas party. When Lois had picked Ollie's name from the basket, she _knew_ the time had come.

Considering what she was planning, she had talked to both Clark and Dinah about it. Ollie and Dinah had begun dating roughly the same time as she and Clark, and while the two women hardly got along before, they had been able to come to an understanding, and a friendship had even begun to grow between them. With Dinah working with the League, and therefore Clark, not to mention dating one of her and Clark's friends, it made sense to try and bury the hatchet.

After the whole DVD incident, Lois had been cool towards Ollie, but gradually it had lessened, lulling the young billionaire into a false sense of security. And in truth, Lois _had_ forgiven him, and they were certainly still friends, but Lois wasn't about to let him get off scot free for his little stunt.

Chloe sighed as the elevator reaches its destination.

"Well, at least letting you guys talk me into coming to this shindig at the last minute means I'm spared any embarrassing Secret Santa gifts," she said, with a weak smile, gesturing towards Lois' bag. Even without knowing the exact contents, she could foresee a very red Oliver Queen in the near future. Her eyes drifted to Clark's hands, which were empty other than holding a contented Lois.

"Wait, where's your gift?"

Clark was silent for a moment, waiting for the main door to open before sliding the second door to the side, gently pushing Chloe into the apartment, with Lois and him trailing behind her.

"Yeah, about that," Clark said, reaching over to Lois' purse and pulling out a long length of bright red ribbon. In the blink of an eye, his superspeed coming in handy in this particular situation, he had a large bow tied around Chloe's waist. Seeing Bart's eyes light up from across the room at the sight before him, Clark grinned, grasping Chloe's shoulders with his hands and moving her further into Ollie's living room.

"Merry Christmas, Bart!" he said cheerfully, trying to stifle a laugh as Chloe shot him a glare that would freeze lava.

"DUDE!" Bart yelled, and within half a second he's standing by Chloe's side. He grinned at Clark, throwing his arm around Chloe's shoulders. "You are the _best_ Secret Santa ever!"

A satisfied smile adorned Clark's face as he turned to face Lois, who was watching him with a mix of amusement and admiration. Walking over to him, she slid her arms around his neck.

"Is it wrong that that totally made me want to have sex with you right this minute?"

"That's _never_ wrong, Lo."

"Hmmm….you're becoming rather devious, Mr. Kent," she said, her voice almost a throaty whisper that caused Clark's breathing to catch. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."

Rather than engaging in their usual verbal banter, Clark decided to go for a much more intimate response. Leaning in, he gently grasped her lower lip between his. Sighing softly, Lois tightened her arms around his neck, slanting her head slightly to deepen the kiss. She felt his tongue pressing insistently against her lips, and she was just about to part them for him when a very distinctive voice rang out from behind Clark.

"God, can't you two at least save it for the mistletoe? Lord knows there's enough of it in this place."

They both pulled back, looking in the direction of the voice to find Dinah Lance smirking at them.

"I mean seriously, I know he loves green and all, but this?" she paused, waving her hand around the penthouse, "Borders on the ridiculous."

"Well, you know Ollie, he never does anything small," Clark said, grinning as he leans down to kiss Dinah on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

"Same to you," Dinah responded, before heading over to Lois and exchanging a quick hug. "And to you, too."

"Merry Christmas, Dinah."

Pointing to the bag, a devilish glint lit up her eyes. "Is that what I think it is?"

Lois nodded, sharing a conspiratorial look with her partner in crime. Dinah had been onboard with Lois' plan, especially after hearing how her boyfriend had actually kept a DVD of his ex-girlfriend in some rather compromising positions. Regardless of the fact that it had gone down before she and Ollie had started dating, Dinah was none to happy with the merry archer.

"You're sure about this?" Lois asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…you _know_ what it is…"

"I told you, it's cool. Besides, seeing him turn as red as the millions of holly berries he has hanging in this place is something I am definitely looking forward to," she said wickedly, taking the bag from Lois and placing it under the lavishly decorated Christmas tree. "Now, Ollie bought enough egg nog to get the entire city of Metropolis plastered, so drink up!" she finished, motioning them towards the large bowl sitting on the counter, before heading over to her boyfriend, who smiled and waved at Clark and Lois from across the room.

Entwining his fingers with Lois', Clark brought her over to the punch bowl, tilting his head slightly toward it in a questioning manner.

"You want some?"

"Just a little."

"A little? You love this stuff."

"Yeah, but I want to be of completely sound mind for the festivities," she said, grinning. "I intend to remember this night for a _very_ long time.


	6. Chapter 6

Taking another nip of eggnog, Lois leaned against the kitchen counter, happily taking in her surroundings.

The JLA parties were always a blast, and nothing if not eventful.

She watched as Chloe managed to wriggle out of Bart's happy grasp, giggling at her cousin's mixture of discomfort, confusion, and happiness. Diana Prince, sitting on the sofa, chatted away with Ollie and Dinah, while Victor and Kara surrounded the large bowl of eggnog.

"Where's Big Blue?"

Turning slightly, she smiled up at AC, inwardly giggling at one of the many nicknames that had been bestowed upon Clark by his buddies since he had finally costumed up four months earlier.

"Bus accident on the expressway. He didn't think he'd be too long, though. What about you? I notice you're flying solo tonight."

"Well, this isn't exactly the kind of party you can bring a _casual _date to," AC responds.

Lois smiled sympathetically. "True. There are a lot of secrets in this room."

"Understatement of the year," he grinned. "But…let's move on to something that is absolutely _not_ a secret, and something I can say while your boyfriend is out of the room. You're lookin' gorgeous, as usual. And, in case you haven't noticed....," his voice trailed off as his eyes lift towards the ceiling.

Her eyes following, she shook her head, a smirk on her face.

"What a surprise…only not. Ollie's got just about every square inch of this place covered with the stuff."

"Yeah, you'd think Dinah never let him kiss her."

"And we both know _that's_ not true," Lois snarked, her eyes drifting to the now lip locked couple as their former chatting companion, Diana, talked on her cell phone.

"So, what do you say, Lois? A little kiss under the mistletoe for old time's sake?"

"Always the flirt, huh AC?"

"Hey, a guy's gotta keep his skills tuned up, you know. We can't all be as lucky as Clark and Ollie."

"They _are_ pretty lucky. Clark especially, of course," she responded, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"Of course. So…is that a yes?"

She shrugged. "What the hell, it's Christmas right? But," she leaned a bit closer to him, "I feel any tongue Curry, and I rip your gills out."

AC chuckled at that – knowing she would do exactly that. He was about to lean in for a quick and chaste kiss, when he suddenly felt himself being pulled back by the collar of his shirt.

"Dude!" AC choked out, as his shirt was released and he rubbed his hand against his throat.

"Clark!" Lois snapped, seeing her newly returned boyfriend standing next to AC, arms crossed in front of him.

Noticing the possessive look on his friend's face, AC couldn't help but laugh. Some things never changed, even now that he'd gotten the girl.

"Take it easy, Boy Scout. I was just gettin' in the holiday spirit," AC said, a hint of amusement in his voice as he pointed to the sprig of mistletoe hanging above where he and Lois were standing.

"Yeah, well find someone else to get in the holiday spirit with, Fishstick," Clark grumbled, earning a glare from Lois.

Shaking his head, a good-natured grin on his face, AC slapped Clark on the shoulder before glancing at Lois.

"See ya, Lois," he said, before heading off to join Victor and Kara. With him gone, Clark turned his focus to the angry look currently being aimed at him by his girlfriend.

Mimicking his stance, she crossed her arms in front of her, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at him.

Moments passed, excruciatingly silent moments between them, before Clark finally snapped, "What?"

"Don't you think you overreacted just a _little_?"

"Lois, he was about to kiss you! And by the looks of things, you were gonna let him!"

"Clark, it was a little kiss under the mistletoe, for crying out loud," she said, exasperation clear in both the tone of her voice and the roll of her eyes.

"So?"

"So? That's what people do during the holidays. It's completely innocent!"

"Oh yeah, some guy kissing _my_ girlfriend is _so _innocent," he bit back sarcastically.

"Okay, first of all, it wasn't _some_ _guy_, it was AC."

"Your ex," he chimed in.

Throwing her hands up in frustration, she shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of this!"

Sighing, he rubbed his hand through his hair, thankful for the obnoxiously loud Christmas music Ollie had blaring through the apartment so that their current disagreement wasn't being broadcast for all to see and hear.

As he prepared to attempt an explanation of where he was coming from, his eyes caught sight of a now lone figure sitting on the sofa.

He battled with himself for a moment, not sure whether to play out the idea that had newly formed in his head. It was risky, even the suggestion of it ,which was all he honestly intended, in that it could lead into a full on Lois Lane temper tantrum.

But it could also turn the tables and make her see _exactly_ where he was coming from.

Within a moment, an apologetic look appears on his face as he stepped toward Lois.

"You're right, Lo. I was being a jerk."

Thrown off for a moment by his sudden change in attitude, she narrowed her eyes at him slightly, and Clark could see the wheels turning in her head, wondering if he's up to something.

"Yes…you were," she said, her voice tinged with wariness.

"I mean, like you said, it's Christmas. It's just a kiss under the mistletoe. Totally innocent."

"Exactly," she responded, now with hint of victory in her tone, the suspicion he had heard a moment ago subsiding slightly, though not completely.

"And AC was just keeping you company, since I had to help out at the crash site."

"Yes, he was."

He reached above her and tugged down the sprig of mistletoe.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you know…maybe AC had the right idea. It is the holidays, and what with our jobs and all, we can't always be with the ones we love, so when we see a friend all alone, we should be there for that person. You know, keep them company. And poor Diana," he said, gesturing to sofa, "She's all alone. Bruce must have gotten held up in Gotham, so I'm just gonna take this over there. You know, follow AC's example," he finished, an innocent smile on his face, belying the wicked glint in his eyes.

Before he could even take a step, Lois was in front of him. If he didn't know better, with the quickness she'd appeared before him, he'd swear she had superspeed.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm gonna keep Diana company. Maybe a little kiss under the mistletoe, spread the Christmas cheer and all."

Suddenly seething, Lois took a step toward him, her face mere inches from his as she jabbed a finger into his chest.

"You do, and you'll be sleeping next to a giant, glowing green rock tonight, Clark."

"Oh come on, Lois. It's just an innocent kiss in the name of holiday spirit, right?"

Her eyes widen at that, and Clark could swear he saw actually flames flare up within their lovely hazel depths. She was just about to launch into very explicit detail about what she'd do to him if he took one step closer to that sofa with the mistletoe in his hand when…

she saw it.

That triumphant grin on his face. That irritatingly sexy grin that made her insides flip flop on a normal basis.

At this moment, though, it ticked her off.

Groaning softly, she raised her eyes to his, seeing them sparkle victoriously.

"I _so_ won that one," he gloated happily.

Planting her hands on her hips, she smirked. "Consider it your Christmas present."

"Actually," he said, gently grasping her shoulders and turning her slightly, so that she's pressed against the cabinets, "I asked Santa for something else for Christmas."

"Oh, if you think you're getting any after _that_ stunt, you're sadly mistaken, Smallville," she answered, but Clark noticed the flirtatious glint in her eyes at those words. He leaned forward slightly, eliminating the empty space between them and wrapping his arms around her waist.

After a moment, she moved her hands up and placed them gently against his chest.

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Me, too. You were right, I overreacted."

"I think we both did that," she said with a chuckle.

"I know it didn't mean anything…I just don't have any desire to see another guy kissing you."

"Ditto."

"AC's not really my type," he quipped, causing Lois to roll her eyes.

"Cute. I have to say though, I'm kinda impressed, Smallville."

He grinned. "It _was_ a good plan," he stated confidently.

"Not bad, for a rookie anyway. I've taught you well. Now had I realized that you were bluffing…I might have let you walk over there and actually try that move on her."

"What? Why?"

"Are you kidding? The shades of red you'd have turned alone would have been worth the price of admission," she giggled.

"You love torturing me, don't you?" he asked, his voice a gravelly whisper as he gently bumped his nose against hers.

Biting the side of her lip, she reached down to one of the arms encircling her waist, grabbing the one that still held the mistletoe, and lifted it up above their heads.

"Shut up and put that mistletoe to good use, Smallville."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm going to kill you, you know that right?" Chloe growled surreptitiously to a grinning Lois and Clark.

"Admit it, Chlo, you love it," Lois retorted.

"I do _not_," she protested, weakly.

"Bart's a good guy Chloe," Clark interjected, putting in a good word for his friend.

"And it's not like we all don't already know you have the hots for him," Lois muttered, earning a glare from her cousin. "What? It's true, and you know it."

Chloe was about to launch into full-on defensive mode when she felt an arm slip around her waist.

"There you are, beautiful," Bart crooned smoothly.

"As if I could get away if I tried," Chloe mumbled, but Bart simply grins happily, perhaps sensing his date's melting, albeit slowly, resolve toward him. Clark and Lois watched with amusement as Bart's eyes rose to the ceiling, seeking out the closest sprig of mistletoe. His eyes lit up as he spotted one close by, and was about to speed off with a semi-reluctant Chloe in his arms, when Dinah's voice rang out.

"Okay, everyone, time for presents!"

Instinctively, Clark's eyes darted to Lois, seeing the grin creep across her face. He watched as she silently connected with Dinah across the room, who gave her a little nod in response. Reaching for her hand, he gently pulled her to the green chaise.

"It's amazing how you always gravitate to this particular seat with me, Smallville," she quipped, her mind momentarily off her plot.

"Good memories," he responded, without a second's hesitation and accompanied by a smile that made her insides just melt.

"With fantastic ones to add to that collection shortly," she said, watching as Dinah picked up her gift, making a show of looking at the little card attached to the bag.

"Hmmm, okay…and our first unmasked Santa is…," she trailed off, holding up the bag and feigning innocence.

"That would be me."

Giving Clark's hand a squeeze, Lois got up and walked over to Dinah, her hand out for the gift bag.

"So, who's the lucky recipient?"

Lois turned to Oliver, a wide smile on her face. It only took a moment before Oliver registered exactly what that smile meant. Clearing his throat, he nervously dragged a hand through his blond hair.

"Um…maybe we should let someone else go first," he managed to say in a somewhat relaxed voice, despite the obvious nervousness of his body language.

"Absolutely not! Our host should definitely get the first gift," Lois drawled in a saccharinely sweet tone as she walked over to him, holding out the decorative bag with a smile.

"Really, I don't mind," he protested, the edge of anxiety in his voice not lost on the smiling woman holding what he was sure was something that would completely humiliate him in front of everyone.

"I insist," Lois said with a smile way too bright for Oliver's liking, shoving the bag into his hands.

Grimacing, his fingers grasped the bag, his eyes darting around the room and landing on the witnesses to what he was sure was going to be, well, not one of his finer moments.

Clark. Dinah. Bart. AC. Bruce. Diana. Chloe. Victor. Kara.

Not to mention Lois herself, who would get immense satisfaction out of any mortification she could put him through after the DVD incident, particularly in front of their friends.

And yeah, he'd lulled himself into a false sense of security, but somewhere, in the back of his mind, Oliver _knew_ he'd get his.

Glancing up to his left, he saw the not-so-innocent smirk on Lois' face. His eyes shifted to his right, where he saw his girlfriend perched on the arm of the chair, watching him expectantly.

"Open it already!" Dinah exclaimed impatiently.

"Yeah, man, get on with it," AC chimed in from across the room.

"Fine," Oliver grumbled, clearly not in any sort of holiday spirit anymore. He tentatively reached into the bag, parting the green tissue paper. Seeing a large, shiny, wrapped box, he pulled it out, with one last pleading glance at Lois for which he earned one of her patented eyerolls.

He placed the box on his lap, beginning to slowly ease away the wrapping paper. Bit by bit, being careful not to rip it.

Or more likely, prolonging the inevitable.

"Oh for God's sake," Dinah muttered, finally grabbing the package from him and tearing the paper. Tossing the now destroyed paper on the floor, she unceremoniously dumped the plain white box back in his lap.

"Damn, Green Bean, I hope you aren't this slow saving someone," AC snarked.

"Yeah, Ollie, the rest of us would like to open our presents at some point _this_ Christmas season," Victor muttered.

Sighing, Ollie lifted the lid and was greeted by several white sheets of tissue paper. Gulping, he parted them, his eyes finally focusing on what was inside.

Eyes widening, he quickly slammed the paper back down.

"You didn't," he muttered, pink beginning to creep up his neck.

"Now, now Oliver, you have to show everyone your gift," Lois said enthusiastically, and was met with a chorus of agreement, the interest level in Oliver's gift having gone up exponentially simply by the archer's uncharacteristic blushing.

"Do you need some help?"

The sweet tone of Lois' voice, masking a triumph he knew was there, broke through his embarrassment momentarily and he sent a glare her way. After a moment, his pointed gaze ended up on Clark.

"You're Superman, for Christ's sake, you can't reign in your girlfriend?"

Before Clark had the chance to respond, Lois snatched the box from Ollie's hands. Spurred on by his comment, she parted the tissue paper and took out the contents.

"I guess you do need help," she said, a victorious smile on her face as she let the box drop to the floor, a set of garments now in her hands.

Garments being a massive overstatement – seeing as that would actually mean they could qualify as clothing one would wear in respectable company.

"This," Lois said, holding up the green briefs in her left hand along with a green mask, "is Robin Hood, also known as Oliver Queen's favorite bedtime game. And this," she continued, now holding up a very skimpy white bustier edged with what is meant to be an old-fashioned type ruffle, along with tiny white panties and a green garter belt, "is Maid Marion, the damsel who Robin Hood has to heroically save from evil, before claiming her as his own," she finished in an overly dramatic voice.

A stunned silence filled the room as the party guests looked from the outfits, to their now bright red ringleader.

And then… an explosion. Laughter rang out, practically shaking the large glass door leading to the terrace.

"We knew you liked costumes, Ollie…," Bruce said, between peals of laughter.

"Wait, where does he keep the arrow?" Kara asked innocently, having finally come up for air.

"I think there's only one arrow he's worried about using when he's suited up in that thing," Victor chimed in dryly, causing Kara to practically snort the eggnog she had just taken a sip of.

Oliver sunk back into the chair, listening to the jabs his friends were tossing at him between their howls of laughter, and wishing the upholstery would open up and swallow him whole. Glancing over, and seeing the normally over-confident and brash Oliver Queen trying to disappear into the furniture, Lois leaned down towards him.

"Payback's a bitch," she purred in Oliver's ear, enjoying the crimson shade his skin is currently turning as the roars of laughter from the fellow Justice League members continue to fill the room.

Wrinkling her nose slightly, Dinah took the female portion of the costume from Lois, looking it over, what there was of it anyway, from top to bottom, before glancing at her boyfriend.

"Really?"

The laughter ebbed a bit as Ollie simply shrugged in response to Dinah's snarky query.

"Oh, but you have to make sure to, in a very damsel-in-distress kind of way, yell out 'Oh save me, Robin Hood, save me!'," Lois injected, her voice taking on a fake, high pitched tone to give the full effect, before breaking into laughter at Oliver's horrified expression.

"Wait, that actually does it for him?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know," Lois responded, chuckling, "I tried. Valiantly. But I always burst out laughing before I got the whole line out. Kinda killed the mood."

"Dude, that's….no words, man," Bart said, in between giggling fits. Chloe, who had collapsed against him moments before, valiantly tries to get air into her lungs after another bout of hysterical laughter.

Dinah rolled her eyes, her gaze shifting from Oliver back to the Maid Marion costume. As the echoes of laughter finally died away, Dinah shrugged.

"I can make this work," she said nonchalantly. Then, she turned to Oliver. "You're lucky you're hot, Robin Hood."

As the room erupted into hysterics again, Lois headed back to the chaise and sat down, grabbing Clark's hand, thrilled with her victory.

And oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend was only half-heartedly participating in the merriment.

**

"I swear, Smallville, even _you_ never turned that red," Lois sputtered out, still laughing from her triumph over Oliver. She unlocked the door to her apartment and turned the knob, as Clark reached over her and gently pushed the door open.

Still hearing her giggling as she tossed her keys on the side table, he quietly walked over to the couch and sat down.

"It was just…_perfect_," she sighed happily before joining him on the sofa. Bringing her legs up underneath her, she propped her elbow on the back of the couch and leaned her head against it. "Admit it, Smallville. I totally rock when it comes to revenge, among other things, of course."

Clark managed a half smile as he stared down at his hands in his lap. Finally noticing his silence, Lois tipped her head curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin'," he shrugged, and Lois rolls her eyes at his obviously poor attempt at convincing her he was fine.

"Clark?"

"I'm fine, Lo."

"Clearly, you're not fine. Is this about Ollie?"

Silence.

"Clark?"

She noticed the slightest movement of his shoulders up and down, and groaned slightly.

"I told you what I was gonna do, and you _said_ you were okay with it. And when I asked you if it was one of those things where people say they're okay with something when they're really not just to make someone happy, you said it wasn't. You said were fine with it. I wouldn't have gone through with it if you weren't!"

"I was!" he finally said, a bit petulantly.

"But?"

"Lois…just drop it," he muttered, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"When you stop acting like a pouting five-year-old and tell me what the hell's bothering you, I will!"

He sighed loudly, glancing sideways at her, knowing full well she wasn't going to leave him alone until he fessed up.

The thing was, he hadn't lied to her. When she told him about her little plan for revenge on Oliver, he'd thought it was funny, and actually looked forward to seeing Oliver squirm.

Looking back, it seemed like the full implication of what Lois' gift meant didn't hit him at the time.

It really didn't hit him until she had held up the skimpy garment, at least the woman's part of it, earlier tonight.

She'd worn that. With Oliver.

And while the rational part of him knew that already, it was the irrational part that was pulling him into sulking, jealous mode.

"It's just…," he began, then trailed off.

"It's just what?"

Exhaling loudly, Clark shrugged his shoulders. "You wore that with him."

"Yeah…and you knew that. And you also knew that it never got anywhere because, let's be real, even in fantasyland, I don't do the whole 'damsel-in-distress' thing well."

"Yeah…but you tried it. For him."

Beginning to get a little frustrated, Lois threw her hands up and slammed them back down on her lap.

"And again, you already knew that. You knew it when I showed you the stupid thing in the first place so why the hell…," she suddenly stopped, realization beginning to dawn. And once it fully did, a slow grin began to cross her face.

"This isn't about that outfit is it? It's about me being a participant in Ollie's little merry archer fantasy."

Her answer was a barely perceptible nod.

"Because I did it for him. When we were dating."

She's rewarded with another slight head nod from a silent Clark.

"But now we're dating," she began, leaning and running a finger along his jawline. "Clark Kent, Mr. Innocent Farmboy, do _you_ have naughty fantasies?"

Seeing the telltale blush begin to creep up his neck, Lois had her answer, even though Clark weakly tried to evade.

"Come on, Lo…" he muttered, still looking down at his hands in his lap.

"That's what this is about, isn't it? I mean, I played along with Ollie when I was his girlfriend. Unsuccessfully, I would point out again, but I did try. And now, I'm _your_ girlfriend, and you're wondering if all's fair in love and fantasies," she finished with an amused giggle.

He finally glanced at her, noticing the grin on her face.

"Maybe," he admitted.

Her grin turned into a full blown smile.

"Oh, I gotta hear this. Spill."

"Lois…"

"Come on, Clark!" she whined petulantly, before leaning and gently flicking her tongue across his earlobe, hearing him gasp in response. "You know, if you tell me, I just might do it."

She pulled back, watching his face as he struggled with his inherent shyness, something she found totally endearing. Seeing this, she decided to give him a little push.

"I mean, it's not a slutty Maid Marion is it?" Clark shook his head quickly. "Good. After that, you can only go up in the fantasy department Clark. Don't worry."

Finally, after a few moments, he cleared his throat and glanced at her.

"Well…um….you know…I'm a patriotic guy and all," he said.

"Yes you are."

"Stars and stripes…red, white, and blue…from sea to shining _sea_," he says, putting extra emphasis on the last sea.

But there was no need. Grinning, Lois hopped off the couch and disappeared from his view.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm listening, I just need to…um…I forgot to erase my voicemail," she said, rolling her eyes at her own lame excuse. She quietly opened her closet door, beginning to shift clothes to the left, seeing her target hanging on a red hanger way in the back. "So, um….patriotic. Right. The sea…what about the sea?" she asked, trying to keep him talking as she quickly snagged what she was looking for.

"Well…I like the sea, you know…the ocean," he said from the other room. Lois smiled knowingly as her dress dropped to the floor, followed by her bra and panties.

"Like…swimming in the ocean?" she called back, as she slid the straps over her shoulders.

"Swimming or…," he paused, clearing his throat. "Or sailing."

Giggling, Lois hurriedly put the finishing touches on her outfit.

"Sailing, huh?"

"Yeah…I love sailing. Ask anyone."

Taking a quick look in the mirror, she ran a quick hand through her hair, lamenting that she was missing the hat. But this would have to do.

"Oh, I bet you do," she said, as she rounded the corner of her bedroom door and leaned casually against the doorframe.

He was about to respond when his eyes caught sight of red leather. His eyes travelled slowly upward, taking in the tall, shiny boots. The short navy skirt. The fitted white shirt knotted under her breasts, giving him a tantalizing view of the creamy skin of her waist.

"And if I remember right, you like sailors too," she purred, a knowing smile on her face. Stepping toward him, she began to untie the knot in her shirt, unbearably slowly as far as Clark was concerned. He visibly gulped, a smile starting to form on his lips as he watched the shirt disappear from her body, leaving the star-spangled bikini top to entice him further.

"Only one particular sailor," he responded, his voice taking on a husky quality that made butterflies swarm around her stomach.

"It better only be one sailor, Smallville," she said, unhooking the clasp of the skirt and stepping out of it, kicking it behind her as she took another step toward him.

His eyes lit up in appreciation, his memory swarmed with images of her dancing in that bikini, merging with the delicious picture she was presenting him with now.

She walked toward him slowly, her eyes gleaming with devilish seduction and a glint of amusement at seeing him so utterly shocked and yet, thrilled, at her outfit.

"I can't believe you kept that," he said, his voice tinged with awe, his eyes glued to her approaching form.

She shrugged, a grin playing on her lips. "I could tell you liked it," she purred.

"You could?"

"I was sitting on your lap, Clark. It was kinda obvious."

He blushed slightly at that, remembering all too well his reaction to her. At the time, he'd prayed she hadn't noticed. Now, he was thrilled she had.

"Yeah, but you couldn't have known we'd…"

"End up together? True. I guess I kept it…just in case."

"I'm glad you did," he murmured, as she finally reached him, then lowered herself to straddle his lap. Shifting herself against him, she smiled knowingly.

"Good to know it hasn't lost its effect."

"Lois, you dressed in a paper bag would have that effect."

"Really? Cuz I can do that too," she said, pulling back and making a show of attempting to get off his lap.

"Don't you dare," he said, grabbing her waist and firmly placing her back in his lap. He moved forward, intent on capturing her lips, when she suddenly shifted her head away from him.

"Now, Smallville…if I remember right…I didn't really give you a _proper_ lapdance that night," she said, biting her lip at the groan that escaped him as she grinds down against him. His eyes fluttered closed and his hands roughly rubbed her thighs as she swirled her hips against him.

She felt his hips move up against her, gasping at the delicious friction. Moving her hands from his shoulders to the front of his shirt, she began to make quick work of the buttons, finally parting it and running her hands over his incredibly muscular chest.

His breathing becoming more and more labored, Clark opened his eyes, feeling her hands on his skin. Seeing the lust in her eyes that he was sure was mirrored in his own, he moved his hands to the spangled bikini bottom, his fingertips just dipping below the waistband.

Seeing the seductive grin on his face, Lois leaned forward, touching her forehead to his.

"Admit it, I'm the best girlfriend ever," she said, her voice a teasing whisper.

Knowing words couldn't possibly express to her how true he felt that statement was, Clark surged forward and captured her lips in a heartstopping kiss, letting his passion for her give her all the answer she needed.


End file.
